NameCensus.

UK surname

Locking

In the 1881 census there were 238 people recorded with the Locking surname, ranking it #11,476 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 315, ranked #14,258, down from #11,476 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Louth, Hull Holy Trinity and Clee. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include West Lindsey, North Lincolnshire and Doncaster.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Locking is 371 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 32.4%.

1881 census count

238

Ranked #11,476

Modern count

315

2016, ranked #14,258

Peak year

1911

371 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Locking had 238 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #11,476 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 315 in 2016, ranked #14,258.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 371 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Locking surname distribution map

The map shows where the Locking surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Locking surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Locking over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 160 #12,347
1861 historical 175 #13,409
1881 historical 238 #11,476
1891 historical 276 #11,810
1901 historical 300 #11,647
1911 historical 371 #9,830
1997 modern 332 #12,645
1998 modern 332 #12,990
1999 modern 331 #13,106
2000 modern 323 #13,268
2001 modern 312 #13,392
2002 modern 312 #13,639
2003 modern 303 #13,718
2004 modern 309 #13,618
2005 modern 305 #13,689
2006 modern 314 #13,474
2007 modern 305 #13,891
2008 modern 304 #14,000
2009 modern 327 #13,599
2010 modern 333 #13,717
2011 modern 322 #13,907
2012 modern 307 #14,288
2013 modern 321 #14,073
2014 modern 329 #13,918
2015 modern 318 #14,155
2016 modern 315 #14,258

Geography

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Where Lockings are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Louth, Hull Holy Trinity, Clee, Gateshead and Grimsby, Great. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to West Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Doncaster, South Kesteven and Sheffield. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Louth Lincolnshire
2 Hull Holy Trinity Yorkshire, East Riding
3 Clee Lincolnshire
4 Gateshead Durham
5 Grimsby, Great Lincolnshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 West Lindsey 004 West Lindsey
2 North Lincolnshire 015 North Lincolnshire
3 Doncaster 012 Doncaster
4 South Kesteven 006 South Kesteven
5 Sheffield 025 Sheffield

Forenames

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First names often paired with Locking

These lists show first names that appear often with the Locking surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Locking

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Locking, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Locking surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Locking household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Locking is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Locking is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Locking falls in decile 3 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

3
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Locking is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Locking, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

1881 census detail

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Locking families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Locking surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lincolnshire leads with 105 Lockings recorded in 1881 and an index of 28.29x.

County Total Index
Lincolnshire 105 28.29x
Yorkshire 58 2.52x
Lancashire 16 0.58x
Nottinghamshire 12 3.83x
Leicestershire 9 3.50x
Middlesex 8 0.34x
Cheshire 5 0.98x
Durham 5 0.72x
Warwickshire 5 0.85x
Surrey 4 0.35x
Sussex 3 0.77x
Essex 2 0.44x
Berkshire 1 0.57x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.68x
Derbyshire 1 0.28x
Hertfordshire 1 0.62x
Kent 1 0.13x
Northumberland 1 0.29x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Holy Trinity in Yorkshire leads with 22 Lockings recorded in 1881 and an index of 39.75x.

Place Total Index
Holy Trinity 22 39.75x
Clee With Weelsby 17 209.10x
Frodingham 12 909.09x
Louth 11 129.26x
Failsworth 10 158.73x
Horncastle 10 261.10x
Leicester St Margaret 8 12.74x
Aby 7 2500.00x
Boston 7 62.17x
Pontefract 7 141.13x
Handsworth 6 98.68x
Screveton 6 4285.71x
Altrincham 5 55.87x
Aston 5 3.10x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 5 23.33x
Beswick 5 70.92x
Great Grimsby 5 21.22x
Marsh Chapel 5 1086.96x
Sculcoates 5 13.71x
Westoe 5 12.77x
Wootton 5 1086.96x
Southcoates 4 31.32x
St Pancras London 4 2.14x
Brant Broughton 3 555.56x
Broadwater 3 33.41x
Dringhouses 3 810.81x
Paddington London 3 3.51x
Somerby In Grantham 3 319.15x
Tetney 3 468.75x
Aubourn 2 1176.47x
Cottingham 2 40.32x
East Retford 2 73.80x
Great Carlton 2 952.38x
Legbourne 2 526.32x
Nottingham St Mary 2 2.47x
Skidbrook 2 606.06x
Southwark St George Martyr 2 4.28x
Walthamstow 2 12.13x
Alnwick 1 16.84x
Aunsby 1 909.09x
Barrow On Humber 1 46.51x
Bestwood Park 1 181.82x
Blidworth 1 243.90x
Bramham Cum Oglethorpe 1 108.70x
Brimington 1 36.23x
Clawson 1 169.49x
Cleethorpes 1 45.87x
Croydon 1 1.59x
Culverthorpe 1 1428.57x
Fiskerton 1 285.71x
Goole 1 25.91x
Hackney London 1 0.77x
Heaton 1 40.49x
Hertford St John 1 42.02x
Hook 1 19.76x
Hungerford 1 42.37x
Immingham 1 476.19x
Ingham 1 208.33x
Lambeth 1 0.49x
Liverpool 1 0.60x
South Somercoates 1 294.12x
St Nicholas Lincoln 1 28.17x
Thorney 1 61.35x
Woolwich 1 3.42x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Locking surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 18
Elizabeth 11
Sarah 11
Ada 4
Annie 4
Eliza 4
Jane 3
Kate 3
Amy 2
Dinah 2
Edith 2
Ellen 2
Frances 2
Gertrude 2
Hannah 2
Harriet 2
Lizzie 2
Louisa 2
Lucy 2
Agness 1
Amelia 1
Ann 1
Anna 1
Bertha 1
Catherine 1
Charlotte 1
Christiana 1
Clerrissa 1
Elenor 1
Florance 1
Francis 1
Hilda 1
Isabella 1
Jemima 1
Jemmima 1
Julea 1
Lenora 1
Lilian 1
Madaline 1
Margret 1
Martha 1
Maud 1
Muriel 1
Susanah 1
Susannah 1
Tomasine 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Locking surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 27
George 18
Thomas 13
Charles 7
Robert 6
William 6
Arthur 5
Henry 4
Joseph 4
Alfred 3
David 3
Edward 3
James 3
Albert 2
Herbert 2
Wm. 2
Charlie 1
Christopher 1
Clement 1
Elias 1
Francis 1
Frederick 1
Fredrick 1
Harrison 1
Harry 1
Isaac 1
Leonard 1
Mark 1
Mathew 1
Matthew 1
Peter 1
Smith 1
Tom 1
Walter 1
Willm. 1
Wright 1

FAQ

Locking surname: questions and answers

How common was the Locking surname in 1881?

In 1881, 238 people were recorded with the Locking surname. That placed it at #11,476 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Locking surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 315 in 2016. That gives Locking a modern rank of #14,258.

What does the Locking map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Locking bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.